First baseman Chris Gittens has agreed to a contract with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, per a team announcement. Gittens was released by the Yankees at the end of November, just prior to the beginning of the lockout. At that time, it was reported that the Yanks had granted him his release in order to allow him to pursue an opportunity with an NPB team.
Gittens has spent the entirety of his professional career thus far in the Yankees organization, having been drafted by them in 2014. Gittens has always hit well in the minors, but has limited roster versatility due to the fact that he’s only ever played first base. In 2021, he played 45 games at Triple-A and absolutely crushed, slashing .301/.440/.644, for an incredible wRC+ of 185. He couldn’t translate that production to the major league level, as he hit .111/.250/.194 in his first season of MLB action. However, due to bouncing between the two levels and sustaining a few injuries, that was a small sample of 44 plate appearances in 16 MLB games.
Gittens was potentially facing a similar situation in 2022, as he still has option years remaining and didn’t have a clear path to playing time in the Bronx. Luke Voit is currently pencilled in at first for the Yanks, and they have also been connected to other first basemen this offseason, such as Freddie Freeman, Anthony Rizzo and Matt Olson. There’s also the potential of the club adding to another infield position and pushing DJ Lemahieu into some first base duty.
For Gittens, who turns 28 in February, he will now have greater certainty about his job status and likely an increase in salary as well. If he is able to hit NPB pitching at a level anywhere close to the level he’s shown in the minors, he should be able to garner interest from MLB teams in bringing him back to North America, following the trajectory of other sluggers who returned after overseas success, such as Eric Thames or Darin Ruf.
Good luck ! = )
That was nice of the Yankees to let him pursue other opportunities.
They are getting him while the gittens good
that’s a good one actually.
The situation of getting freed from the six years of control by going overseas is pretty interesting. Assuming he’d be spending a decent amount of time in the minors in the coming few years, this seems like an obvious move for anyone with a potential market in Asia, especially with how little minor leaguers are paid.
Has there been anyone who tried to go this route and was denied release? Why would a team do if a really good prospect tried to do this?
realistically speaking if a team releases you to go overseas its hard to expect to have stuck for six years anyways. also, im pretty sure in most cases (or at least for ex-MLB or small-time NPB or KBO players) you have to negotiate out of being arb-eligible anyways.
If he returns to MLB, teams will still be able to retain the same amount of control over him as he had when he left. The only difference would be that as a free agent, he can negotiate his salary vs. being locked into the league minimum as a player with 2 years or less of service would be.
The power is real. He should have a fine season for the Eagles. Not unconvinced he could be an effective power-hitter in the Majors, but the opening wasn’t there. Still time for return if he does well in Japan.
I imagine if he in any way replicates his AAA numbers over there he will have suitors that give him a shot in 2023. Nobody gonna pencil him in as a starter but with NL DH incoming he could find himself as a bench piece that rotates in at 1B and DH for a team that’s weak there.
Blessings on Chris’s efforts. Hopefully someday he can learn to translate the minor league success in the big leagues. He has all the tools to be very good.
As a Yankee fan I strongly disagree. He may be the worst first baseman I ever saw in Pinstripes
He’s not a great fielder, but he’s a better fielder than Voit.
Considering he had all of 44 PAs for the Yankees, you shouldn’t be upset or happy if he stays or goes. He was a minor leaguer.
“…better fielder than Voit.” is an awfully low bar, man. & I am not able to say one way or the other. Didn’t really see him enough.
Sayonara and good riddance to Gittens. He is the “Poster Child for Triple AAAA player
Too good for AAA, not good enough for the Yanks. He’s going to the “AAAA” League now isn’t he?
He definitley seems like a guy who will go over seas for a few years then pull an Eric Thames.
Abuse PEDs?
Was Eric Thames busted for PED’s?
Huh? Some people say he grew a beard and still lives here.
@chipper. Eric Thames got tested at least 5 times that was leaked by the media in 2017. No word of him failing any PED tests ever.
Bro, you don’t put 50 lbs on in 2 years the way he did. I don’t care if he never failed a test. His body completely changed in his late 20s. That doesn’t happen naturally. You are delusional if you think he is natty.
@chipper. Actually if you are a gym rat it can be done. My brother for instance was tall and thin growing up he had a problem mainly with weed and meth. He traded one addiction for another and after a couple years went from 6’2” maybe 170 to 6’2” 240 and incredibly fit. Lots of protein and you have to like to eat as he always was a eat a pizza all by yourself guy.The serious weightlifters take in a ridiculous amount of carbs. He also spent 2-3 hours probably 5-6 days s week lifting. He has slowed down now and is probably 220 pounds but he has his own very successful business and 2 young boys and a high maintenance wife. It can be done without peds. Trust me I’ve asked him numerous times if he juiced as I did when I was young and stupid. He is also 12 years younger than me and I’m not interested in lifting anymore. Chipper is my all time favorite player btw.
That’s cute, but I saw what Thames looked like before he went to Japan. I saw what he was when he came back. I have 10 years of strength and conditioning under my belt. You don’t go from a muscled-up, lean 185 to 235. We aren’t talking about some bean pole that never lifted weights. We are talking about a highly trained athlete. 50 lbs on a highly trained athlete doesn’t happen naturally. You are basically saying to me right now “my mom was a virgin because she told me she was.”
He went to Korea, not Japan.
That’s a fact and not speculation by the way.
Good job
Thanks. If you ever get the chance; have dinner at a Korean steakhouse/BBQ place. Afterwards you might have another theory on how a guy might add 50lbs in two years while in Korea. Delicious.
Hyperbole never does an argument any good, @kid. He put on about 20 lbs. Which – yeah – is entirely possible to do through exercise & nutrition over a two year period.
Sounds like you need to get into the gym & explore your physical capabilities & limits, bro. Perhaps too much time on the internet is divorcing you from what can be accomplished via intense training. Just a guess…
Sherman Bearcats ⚾️
I feel all posts about NPB and KBO signing just use the saw cut and pasted last paragraph with slight tweaks!
A team has control of the player for 6 years before the player hits free agency. Does this rule apply if the player signs for a team in another country?
Yes. Still based on MLB service time, but they can negotiate guaranteed MLB contracts when they return. Foreign ballplayers can still be subject to an arbitration year(s) if their contracts expire before they accrue enough service time. It’s probably not a coincidence that the better Japanese players sign for 5 or 6 years.
He’ll probably stick around in the NPB for a while as most hitters that go to NPB never come back to the MLB. Cecil Fielder and Orestes Destrade were rarities.
Gittens and Tanaka reunion.